Georgia election workers’ defamation case opens second day of deliberations
WASHINGTON (AP) — Jurors on Friday began their second day of deliberations to decide how much Rudy Giuliani must pay two former Georgia election workers for spreading lies about them after the 2020 election that led to a barrage of racist threats and upended their lives.
The jurors considered the case for more than three hours on Thursday after a three-day trial in in Washington's federal courthouse. Giuliani has already been found liable of defamation in the case, and the jurors are considering only how much he'll pay in damages.
Wandrea "Shaye" Moss and her mother, Ruby Freeman, are seeking tens of millions of dollars over Giuliani's false claims accusing them of ballot fraud while the former New York City mayor was fighting to keep Republican*
Donald Trump in the White House after Democrat Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election.
The potential hefty damages come at the same time Giuliani, a Republican, is gearing up to defend himself against criminal charges stemming from his legal representation of Trump.
Giuliani has continued to repeat the false conspiracy theory asserting the women interfered in the Georgia election, including in comments he made to reporters outside the courthouse after the trial began Monday, attorneys for the women argued in closing statements.
They argued for a substantial award, of at least $47 million. That would compensate Freeman and Moss, who are black, for the harrowing ordeal that's driven them from their homes and made them fear for their lives.